Remember Bill? He’s your dad’s best friend and a local dentist. And in his spare time, Bill builds and sells duck calls as a side business. As you’ll recall from week 3 and the mid-term, Bill has had a time with his side business over the last few months.

Bill returns to see you. Bill tells you that he was able to work things out with John and Joseph. Specifically, Bill and John agreed to a settlement in which Bill agreed to assemble another 500 duck calls at no charge. This required Bill to close his dental practice for another week and work non-stop (or at least that is how it felt to him). Bill, however, did not want to pay any money from his own pocket. He is trying to save up all the money he can, as he wants to retire early and move to the river.

Bill likewise settled his dispute with Joseph. He agreed to sell Joseph another 200 units at $9.99. Bill said it was again better than having to pay any money out of his pocket.

Bill’s purpose for the visit is to see if there is anything he can do to help protect his side business and himself in the event of another dispute. Bill tells you that he has never done anything but begin operating his duck call business from his home. He tells you that he has done some research about different business forms, but he can’t understand the benefits and negatives of the different forms. That is why Bill has come to you. He wants you to explain his potential options to him and suggest which business form he should use for his business. He tells you that he doesn’t want to have to do a lot of work or spend a bunch of money to change his business. And he says that he doesn’t want to add a lot of extra work for himself either. He would like to keep using his personal checking account and does not plan to invest much money in the business.

Please advise Bill about his options and any benefits or concerns that you believe may be important to Bill.

No other outside sources.